1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite , and said , 2How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a mighty wind ? 3Doth God pervert justice ? Or doth the Almighty pervert righteousness ? 4If thy children have sinned against him , And he hath delivered them into the hand of their transgression ; 5If thou wouldest seek diligently unto God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty ; 6If thou wert pure and upright : Surely now he would awake for thee , And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous . 7And though thy beginning was small , Yet thy latter end would greatly increase .
The Wisdom of the Ancients
8For inquire , I pray thee , of the former age , And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out 9( For we are but of yesterday , and know nothing , Because our days upon earth are a shadow ); 10Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, And utter words out of their heart ? 11Can the rush grow up without mire ? Can the flag grow without water ? 12Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down , It withereth before any other herb . 13So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish: 14Whose confidence shall break in sunder, And whose trust is a spider’s web . 15He shall lean upon his house , but it shall not stand : He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure . 16He is green before the sun , And his shoots go forth over his garden . 17His roots are wrapped about the stone -heap, He beholdeth the place of stones. 18If he be destroyed from his place , Then it shall deny him , saying , I have not seen thee . 19Behold , this is the joy of his way ; And out of the earth shall others spring .
A Call to Repentance
20Behold , God will not cast away a perfect man , Neither will he uphold the evil-doers. 21He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter , And thy lips with shouting . 22They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame ; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more .